Barking Mad
by Benevolent Goddess
Summary: PreRENT. Benny is excited to see Alison's apartment for the first time. Enter Evita, and things quickly go downhill.


**Author's Notes/Disclaimer**: My first venture back into the RENT fandom in years! It feels good to be back, though I'm not sure where the inspiration came from. Just something short I thought up, concerning Evita the Akita. If you enjoyed this, feel free to go read my older stories. You can review 'em too, 'cause it's always nice to get fresh perspectives on an older piece. :)

As usual, I don't own RENT. Simply borrowing. Enjoy!

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Benny adjusted his tie as he climbed up the stairs, mentally repeating the long list of directions Alison had just given him. Upon entering her penthouse he was to take off his shoes and leave them on the mat to the right of the door, but not before taking off his coat and putting it on the coat rack which was located to the left. The wood floors had just been put in so he'd have to be careful not to scuff them, and she'd also mentioned someone named Evita. Shit. What did she say about Evita?

"Alison, baby?"

The tall blonde reached the top step and spun around, shooting him the sweetest smile he'd ever seen. Alison Grey was all angles and bones, but when she smiled the whole world seemed right. "Yes, Benjamin?"

"Remind me again, who's Evita? A housekeeper or something?"

"No, no," she said with a dismissive wave as she dug her key out of her purse. "Evita is my dog. Purebred, most well-behaved dog you'll ever meet. Comes from a long line of show dogs."

Benny smiled. She was a dog person, this was good.

Alison and Benny had been dating for the past two months, but neither of them had ever been inside the other's living space. Benny had his reasons – he didn't want Alison to know he was sharing "his" loft with a struggling filmmaker, a drug addicted punk rocker, a gay undergrad student and a bossy Bohemian drama queen. And as for Alison's secrecy? He couldn't be sure why he hadn't been invited over before, except for the fact that she abided by her father's word – to the point where she didn't do much without his permission. Apparently after meeting him a few times, he'd gotten the green light. Benny was hopeful. Alison's father always seemed to be looming over them, so maybe she'd open up a bit more now that he was off looking at locations to build his next big adventure in digital media production. Although the man scared him shitless, Benny had to admire his success.

The key turned in the lock, and the door opened wide to reveal a spacious living area. Benny was impressed. He'd heard a lot about the place from Alison herself, but hadn't quite prepared himself for such a luxurious setting. Maybe it was because he was sharing space with four other people, but he couldn't believe that his girlfriend had all this room to herself. Not entirely to herself, he corrected mentally. It was then that the large dog bounded in to greet them. Enter Evita.

Evita was love at first sight, the kind of dog who had a real personality. Her curled tail wagging, she went straight to her owner and began lavishing affection on her. Benny was touched by the loving display between dog and master, that is, until she spotted Benny and began to bark madly. He'd never believed in love at first sight anyway.

"She doesn't like men," Alison said with an apologetic smile. She tapped the dog on the snout – Benny assumed this usually quieted her – but it was to no avail. Evita just stood there, barking and wagging her tail as if to express her complete amusement at Benny's obvious discomfort.

"I can tell."

"Just come inside, she'll get used to you in a minute."

As the night went on, Benny kept himself occupied by daydreaming about when he'd finally be able to move in and have some of this space for his very own. He felt cruel for thinking it, but between the barking that just wouldn't stop and Alison's drawn out conversation about some painting she'd just bought, he was sure he'd go insane before the time came anyway. After a while Evita was banished to the balcony, but the barking didn't let up one bit.

"Will she be okay out there?" Benny asked as the dog pressed her nose up against the glass, her barks leaving small puffs of condensation. Something about the situation seemed dangerous to him.

"She'll be fine." Another wave of that manicured hand. Another flash of those pearly whites. Yes, Alison, of course. Back to daydreaming.

"Just wondering. She's all by herself."

"What do you expect her to do, fly off the balcony?"

Benny shrugged. Not much would surprise him, since the dog seemed to have bigger lungs than an Olympic swimmer. His attention was now focused on Evita as she barked, the muscles in her legs twitching anxiously as she waited to come back inside. In the background, Alison continued to talk about art, wine, and how her father was going to turn an entire neighborhood into a successful artists' community one day – but that talk certainly wasn't as amusing as watching the dog bark itself half to death on the other side of the glass.

The dislike was becoming mutual.

"So Alison, speaking of investments… Have you heard of shock collars?"


End file.
